Marrakech Tourism Industry Urges Lifting of COVID Restrictions for Winter Season

Tourism operators are asking for only one thing: the lifting of the restrictive measures taken by the government in early August, including the curfew from 9 pm, reports L’Économiste. "Without this, we will miss the fall/winter season for the third consecutive year, which is very important for Marrakech," laments Ahmed Bennani, a Marrakech hotelier. According to Taoufik Madih, president of the Regional Association of Travel Agencies of Marrakech/Safi, the survival of businesses depends on the lifting of the restrictions.

One operator says that all indicators are green for a serene recovery of the tourism sector in Morocco. "Vaccination is well advanced, the number of contamination cases is declining, and all that remains is a courageous decision to be made," supports another hotelier. "It is not normal that Marrakech has been officially closed since last August," fumes Lahcen Zelmat, president of the National Federation of the Hotel Industry (FNIH).

Severely affected by the health crisis related to Covid-19, tourism operators are pinning their hopes on the winter/fall season. A season during which they achieve good sales figures. According to the National Airports Office (ONDA), Marrakech-Menara airport recorded, from June 15 to August 31, 2021, a volume of international commercial traffic of 565,680 passengers, welcomed through 4,842 international flights.